Sleep For the Weary
by Indee
Summary: While at Misuzu's pension, Haruhi discovers how truly terrifying a sleepy Mori-senpai can be. Light Haruhi/Mori fluff.


No one knew about it. No one would know about it. Neither of them would tell. To Haruhi, it didn't mean much. They had just fallen asleep. That was all. Nothing had happened, hardly any words were exchanged (well - at least, afterwards.)

Everyone knew (though didn't want to admit) what happened when Mori was tired, and he had worked considerably hard all day in their refreshing tournament. It wasn't that late, and the Host Club was enjoying Misuzu's home-made food and celebrating the tournament. Even though Tamaki had lost (and would often give Haruhi a forlorn look), he was in high spirits. And when the club King was happy, usually, everyone else was too.

Haruhi smoothed out her apron before gathering up the trays of empty plates and cups. She inwardly groaned. She wished she were stronger. The tray was very heavy, almost too heavy.

"Here you go, Haruhi!" Hikaru carelessly tossed another cup onto the tray, and Haruhi wobbled precariously. A firm hand steadied her and swept the tray away from her before she had a chance to drop it.

"Mori-senpai," Haruhi murmured, looking up at the very tall boy.

"Idiot!" Tamaki exploded with overzealous outrage. "Hikaru! My daughter is fragile! How dare you pile another dish on her heavy tray! Haruhi, are you all right?"

Haruhi shot Tamaki a blank look. "I'm fine."

"Sorry, Haruhi," Hikaru said over his shoulder.

"I can take the tray now, senpai," Haruhi said, looking up and holding out her hands. He shook his head slightly and walked toward the kitchen, balancing the tray carefully in the palm of his hand. Tilting her head quizzically, she ignored the obnoxious fighting from Tamaki and the twins.

"Haru-chan! Is it time for cake?" Hunny asked enthusiastically, tugging on her sleeve. Haruhi glanced down at Hunny and nodded. Although she was pretty full from dinner, she knew that Hunny was never full enough to have to say no to cake. She walked toward the kitchen.

When she got to the kitchen, she saw Misuzu staring at Mori, who was standing over the kitchen sink and washing the dishes. She thoughtfully wondered just how much physical labor Mori was used to doing. Surely dishes weren't something he normally did? But he showed inexplicable kindness in helping Misuzu and Haruhi with the dishes.

"Refreshing!" Misuzu muttered, but Haruhi ignored the okama.

"Aren't you going to have dessert with the others?" Haruhi asked as she set five pieces of cake onto her tray. She was much too full to have a piece right away, but she would probably have some later, when she wasn't working.

Mori glanced at her and shook his head, not stopping in the chore of dishes. Maybe he enjoyed the attention Misuzu bestowed on him. He didn't really get much at the Host Club, not like the rest of them. He was only there because Hunny was there. Haruhi shuddered at the thought of anyone liking the attention Misuzu showered on them, particularly Mori.

The short girl shrugged and grabbed the plate, carrying it off into the dining room, setting each piece in front of the boys. She handed the twins cheesecake, Tamaki and Kyoya got the last pieces of chocolate, and the last was a large strawberry piece she had picked for Hunny.

"Aren't you going to join us, Haruhi?" Kaoru asked, cutting into his cheesecake with a fork.

"I have to finish cleaning, but you guys enjoy," she offered them a smile before clearing away the rest of their dirty dishes and marching to the kitchen. When she got there, she noticed Misuzu was gone (probably preparing the last room in the pension for the Hiitachins).

"This is a pretty cute place."

The voice caught Haruhi off guard. It wasn't familiar. Well, it was, but...

She looked up at Mori, who was smiling at her as he scrubbed the dishes. She stared at him in shock. He didn't talk! Well, he did, but it was usually only one word sentences and the word cute generally wasn't part of his vocabulary. Of course! He was washing dishes! He had water in his circuits! She needed a wrench.

Wait a minute. That wasn't her usual train of thought. That was Tamaki. Or Hikaru and Kaoru. Mori was a normal person, not a robot. He was just... tired. Maybe she should go get Hunny.

"You should probably go and take a nap," she offered, drying the dishes that Mori had washed.

"It's okay," Mori said, and his voice made Haruhi shiver. She just wasn't used to it sounding so... friendly and warm. "I'll help you finish. A cute girl like you shouldn't have to do all this work by yourself."

Haruhi's heart leapt into her throat. It wasn't because he said something sweet (she was by far too used to words like those coming from people more sincere - she just didn't take them seriously anymore). It was because she was positively terrified. How did she deal with a sleepy Mori? Did she treat him like normal? Should she force him to bed?

Unfortunately there were no free beds in the pension except...

Haruhi finished the dishes with Mori's help in barely any time at all. The pension had been busy but it was slowing down (especially now that Tamaki and the twins weren't trying to impress people and being their usual obnoxious selves.) She had gone out to collect the dishes from dessert and saw that the group had travelled outside to play with Tamaki's dog, Antoinette (where she had even come from was beyond Haruhi - they had arrived in a helicopter).

Now that she had done a bit of work, she pulled out the leftovers of the strawberry cake. There was one piece left. It was large, too large for her to eat alone, so she divided it into two pieces. One large and one small, and she offered the larger have to Mori, who leant against the counter, wiping his hands with a dish towel.

"On the house," Haruhi said brightly. Mori had become quiet again while they worked, so she had enjoyed working with him immensely. It was nice to have someone who wasn't always loud around. Sometimes, though, Mori's quiet nature was a bit unnerving. Who knew what he was thinking about?

(The answer was probably something like how Sanma was best prepared.)

"Haruhi," Mori spoke again, looking down at her, picking the strawberries off his piece of cake. Haruhi straightened and her eyes widened. "Did you make the frosting? It's delicious."

"Uh," Haruhi hesitated. "Misuzu did most of the work, but I guess I did help..."

Mori was staring at her. What did she do? Should she run and get Hunny? That was probably a smart course of action - Hunny would easily persuade Mori to go take a nap. Well, maybe if she tried very hard, she could do. Besides, she didn't really want to bother them. When she had left them, they had been having such fun... And she was enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

"Here," Mori put the strawberries onto her small plate and grinned at her. It was kind of scary. "I know you like them. And with Hunny around, I get more than enough."

"Senpai -" Haruhi began.

"Please call me Takashi," Mori said, and Haruhi froze. She couldn't call him that! It was just weird. Hunny was the only one who called Mori 'Takashi'. Even Tamaki didn't. No one else she knew did.

"T-Takashi-senpai," she just could not leave the 'senpai' off. It would make it too weird. She knew she had to amuse him, at least until he went to sleep. She very much hoped he wouldn't remember much of this conversation in the morning. He had a tendency to forget his outgoing attitude when he was sleepy. "If you're really tired, you can take a nap in my room. I'll have Hunny come get you when they're ready to leave."

She was relieved when Mori nodded. They both finished off the last of their cake (Haruhi in probably more of a hurry than needed) and Haruhi quickly lead Mori to the room Misuzu had given her on the first level. As they entered the room, Haruhi hurriedly tidied up her suitcase and tucked it to the side.

"You should wear things like this more often," Mori said behind her and Haruhi turned to see him holding up some pink frilly thing her father had packed in her suitcase. "You could around here. There's no one from Ouran to see."

"It's not really practical," Haruhi said, taking the dress from the normally stoic boy. It had too many frills and lace for it to be something she could possibly wear on a daily basis - if ever. She preferred simple and light things - usually things that didn't make her stand out. She was happy just to blend in.

"I'll come get you when Hunny wants to leave," she offered, gesturing to the bed. He quickly shuffled in, since anyone could tell he was extremely tired - and not just by his attitude. He had worked especially hard today and he was beginning to show his weariness. Perhaps an early nap would do him some good.

She sighed. She almost wished she could take an early nap. The Host Club wore her out.

As she shut off the light and went to turn on the lamp, Mori grabbed the laces of her apron and undid them with one sweep of his hand. Her apron fell around her neck, limp, and she stared wide-eyed at him. He pulled it over her head and smiled.

"Better," he said gently. She nodded slightly, if only to please him and began to shuffle away. But he had a much longer reach that she thought and he grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her toward the bed. The back of her knees hit the edge of the bed and he easily picked her up so she was completely on the bed.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her down so she was wrapped in his arms, like Hunny might cuddle Bun-Bun. She suddenly felt like an overgrown doll. In fact, that was probably exactly what she was to Mori at the moment. She curled her knees up to her chest and Mori gently patted her night.

"Have a good nap, Haruhi," Mori said in her ear, and she breathed out very slowly before closing her eyes. Maybe this wasn't so bad. She could blame him later. He had her completely pinned down. They would understand. She wasn't sure what Misuzu's reaction would be, but it couldn't be that bad. Eventually their breathing steadied and they both quickly fell fast asleep.

- - -

"No, milord!" the twins shouted as Tamaki wound up to kick the ball.

"Starlight -" and he was tackled by the two red-haired doppelgangers.

"Where are Haruhi and Mori?" Kyoya asked, watching with a slightly bemused expression at Tamaki fighting off Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Takashi was pretty sleepy," Honey said, putting a finger to his chin thoughtfully.

"Haruhi looked pretty exhausted after today, too," Kyoya offered, folding his arms over his chest.

"Maybe they're napping together!" Hunny said enthusastically, looking far more cheerful than one should while saying such a thing.

"WHAT?!" Tamaki and the twins shouted at the same time.

"Mori! How dare he defile my daughter!" Tamaki yelled, running into the pension. "Haruhi-!"


End file.
